Angel Di Maria Grateful for Louis van Gaal's Role in Manchester United Move

Angel Di Maria has highlighted Louis van Gaal's determination to sign him as the main reason why he chose to play for Manchester United.

The Argentine international moved to Old Trafford for a British record fee of £59.7m in August as one of six new faces to arrive during a summer of upheaval at the club.

United's failure to qualify for this season's Champions League initially cast doubt on their ability to sign world-class players, something seen as the gravest threat to their hopes of clawing their way back into top-four contention after their worst ever Premier League season last term.

But Di Maria insisted he had no such concerns after being enticed by the opportunity to work under former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager Van Gaal.

"Van Gaal was really important for me in order to come here," Di Maria told Perform. "[He] was one of the first who spoke about bringing me here. The coach always has the last world about the players he wants.

"I am really grateful to him because, thanks [to] him, I am now playing for United.

"I keep trying to improve every day and for that reason I wanted to come here to United. I needed to change my life. I will try my best to play the right way. I will try my best in every match and show my arrival at Old Trafford was worthy."

Di Maria opened his United account on his home debut against Queens Park Rangers on 14 September in a game where his compatriot Marcos Rojo also left a positive impression after his first outing for the club.

"Manchester United are trying to grow," Di Maria said. "We already know we didn't start the Premier [League] in the right way but those things always happen in football.

"Marcos Rojo has shown at the World Cup he is capable. He did really well there and he deserved to come here. Hopefully he will be able to improve every day as he did at the World Cup and he will bring a lot of good things to United."